Atalanta moved into the Coppa Italia final after a resounding 3-1 victory over Napoli on Wednesday night and Gian Piero Gasperini wasted no time in praising his side.
The Bergamaschi coach jumped to the defence of his players after they had come under some harsh recent criticism from certain areas of the media.
“Expecting any more from this Atalanta side seems difficult, even if there’s been a lot of gossip about us,” Gasperini said in his post-match press conference after Atalanta booked their place in their second Coppa final in three seasons.
“Sometimes people talk about things without knowing how difficult it is and the real struggles of playing so many games in a short space of time.
“We have never lost faith, we’re playing with great consistency. Sunday in Cagliari will be our 13th game in 42 days, so it’s normal to drop off a little.
“We’ve played against Cagliari, Lazio, twice against Napoli and we haven’t once given up but it’s been very demanding”.
La Dea will be looking to keep up their chase on the top four when they face relegation-threatened Cagliari in Sardinia.
